Chocolates Turin and Barry Callebaut announce the grand opening of the first Chocolate Academy in Mexico City

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First Chocolate Academy in Mexico as the result of the cooperation of two leading companies in the chocolate industry

Barry Callebaut's fourteenth Chocolate Academy in the world and the third in the Americas

An institution designed to strengthen culture of chocolate through excellence

Mexico City/Mexico, September 17, 2012 – Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products and Chocolates Turin, a leading Mexican Group operating since 1928, announced today the opening of the first Chocolate Academy in Mexico. It is Barry Callebaut’s 14th Chocolate Academy in the world. The Chocolate Academy located in Mexico City is a teaching and training facility for professionals at all levels interested in strengthening their skills in working with chocolate, and learning about new techniques, trends and recipes dedicated to the Mexican market. During the opening cocktail of the Chocolate Academy in Mexico, representatives of the top management of both Barry Callebaut and Grupo Turin attended, together with entrepreneurs and other important personalities from the local chocolate sector.

The Chocolate Academy’s offerings include a wide range of training courses for professionals and artisans and demonstrations for customers in all sectors: hotels, restaurants and the catering business, as well as pastry, bakery and chocolate experts. The aim is to create a forum for dialogue with customers interested in improving their technical skills and offering them additional consulting services.

Octavio Peñaloza Sandoval, Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Turin, said: “As a pure Mexican company, Grupo Turin is celebrating not only the results of the successful strategic cooperation with Barry Callebaut. With the opening of the first Chocolate Academy in Mexico we are also fortifying the Food Service market in the country. In addition, the new Academy will have a research center to develop new chocolate products tailored to the Mexican market needs.”

“Barry Callebaut has more than 150 years’ experience in the cocoa and chocolate world,” says Jesús Carlos Valencia, Country Manager of Barry Callebaut Mexico. “During this time, we have deepened our relationship with chocolate professionals all over the world. With our Chocolate Academies we are supporting them in expanding their knowledge and getting to know about the latest trends. With the cooperation with Grupo Turin, we can proudly present the first Chocolate Academy in Mexico today, where we continue to work on extending our services and offerings to the chocolate professionals in this important market.”

The Chocolate Academy Mexico will be integrated in the network of Barry Callebaut’s other 13 other Chocolate Academies all around the world. About 26,000 professionals and artisans are trained every year in these academies. For more information about the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academies please see: www.chocolate-academy.com.

Turin Alta Repostería was opened in 1928 with their product Turin Chocolates. It is a 100% Mexican company which through its 82 years of experience has become a leading company in the Mexican market with all their chocolate products and the confectionary sector.

Since the beginning, Chocolates Turin has retained its original formulas working with the most strict selection of raw materials, combined with European techniques and high technology, have consolidated its leadership and excellence in high confectionery products . Committed with their business partners, Turin is the only company capable of offering 360° solutions with a complete and competitive product portfolio that includes everything from the finest and prestigious Belgian chocolate, to chocolate flavored products of the highest quality in the market.

Barry Callebaut:

With annual sales of about CHF 4.6 billion (EUR 3.6 billion/USD 5.0 billion) for fiscal year 2010/11, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate – from the cocoa bean to the finished chocolate product. Barry Callebaut is present in 27 countries, operates around 40 production facilities and employs a diverse and dedicated workforce of about 6,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry focusing on industrial food manufacturers, artisans and professional users of chocolate (such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), the latter with its two global brands Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®. Barry Callebaut is the global leader in cocoa and chocolate innovations and provides a comprehensive range of services in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing. Cost leadership is another important reason why global as well as local food manufacturers work together with Barry Callebaut. Through its broad range of sustainability initiatives and research activities, the company works with farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods.